娇色导航

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Ongoing project

娇色导航 and the National Year of Reading

娇色导航 is proud to ‘Go All In’ and pledge support for the

This page details some of the initiatives that 娇色导航 has undertaken in the past and present to support research into the teaching of reading and student engagement in reading and literacy, including:

娇色导航 Book Choices

We asked 娇色导航 trustees and members of the 娇色导航 office team to tell us about an inspirational childhood book that resonates with them and why. Each month, we will feature two new responses. Here are our choices for July.

July Selections

Barbara Skinner – 娇色导航 Trustee

Dogger by Shirley Hughes. Dogger is a great book. I loved reading it aloud to my three children when they were little. It is all about the unconditional love a child has for their favourite toy, and how upset they are when they lose it – Dave loses his ‘dogger’ at a school fair and it ends up on a stall and being bought by someone else! Shirley Hughes’s illustrations and gentle storytelling provided a place where my children could explain how unhappy they got when they lost their teddy or cuddly rabbit or toy car. It’s all about family kindness too, with Dave’s older sister Bella swapping a shiny new teddy that she won at the fair for Dave’s ‘dogger’ – so he can get it back. It’s all about teaching children to be good to each other, and to help each other.

Sarah Fleming – 娇色导航 Office

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume is my favourite childhood book. I first read it when I was about eleven and completely fell in love with it. I remember how refreshing it was to read a book that was so honest about growing up, and I was fascinated by the way it explored religion, identity and all the ups and downs of being on the cusp of adolescence. I loved it so much that I even named my own daughter Margaret after the book’s main character.

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Barbara Skinner, Professor

Professor in TESOL and Education at Ulster University

Barbara Skinner is a Professor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)and Education in the School of Education at Ulster University. Barbara lectures on a range of teacher education courses. She is involved with doctoral...

Profile picture of Sarah Fleming
Sarah Fleming, Ms

Membership and Engagement Manager at British Educational Research Association

Sarah Fleming joined 娇色导航 in 2014. Her main responsibilities are managing 娇色导航's member services, writing 娇色导航 communications and promoting 娇色导航’s work in the wider education community. She works closely with the 娇色导航 Events Manager on the 娇色导航...

娇色导航 Volunteers

娇色导航 staff have undertaken some volunteer work in local schools as part of our pledge to support the National Year of Reading.

娇色导航 Office Team & the PSA

As part of 娇色导航’s pledge we are currently collecting children’s pre-loved books to donate to the   We share our office space with the , who have kindly agreed to take part in this initiative. Donations from 娇色导航 and PSA staff as well as visiting committee members will be taken to the nearest donation point (Pancras Square Library N1C 4AG) during July or August when we have finished collecting.

Sarah Fleming – 娇色导航 Office

I volunteer as a parent governor at Castle Newnham – an all through school in Bedford. I have two small children at the school. In this, my first year as a school governor, the school now offers regular “reading mornings” where on Fridays parents are invited to come in and read with the children for 15 minutes at the beginning of the day. At the end of each term, we put on a “reading café” with book quizzes, snacks and activities for the children and parents to enjoy while reading.

Kaya Taylor – 娇色导航 Office

As part of 娇色导航’s pledge to support the National Year of Reading, I had the pleasure of volunteering at my daughter’s school during March as a Mystery Reader for her reception class.

The visit began with a fun surprise, as I was covered with a cloth and guided into the classroom while the children excitedly tried to guess who I was. The children then used clues such as my shoes, hands and bag to guess whether I was male or female, which added even more laughter and engagement to the activity. After plenty of enthusiastic suggestions, my daughter proudly revealed that I was her mum.

Once the big reveal was over, I introduced three books for the children to choose from, with The Princess and the Frog being the clear favourite. I read the story aloud, encouraging lots of interaction along the way, with the children asking questions and joining in throughout.

Although the session lasted only around 15 minutes, it was a truly warm, joyful and rewarding experience. Seeing the children so engaged with reading made it incredibly worthwhile, and it inspired me to volunteer again in the future.

Heidi Hollowbread – 娇色导航 Office

In National Storytelling Week (2nd to 8th February 2026). I volunteered at Moulsham Junior School in Chelmsford, Essex. I previously taught at this school between 2008 and 2015. I selected a variety of texts to share with the children across the Key Stage 2 age range and read each class a favourite chapter to draw them in to the tale.

These were all books that I had read to my own classes during my teaching career. It was fantastic to be able to share them with new audiences and discover that the stories selected had all stood the test of time and retained their appeal. The books I chose are listed below.

Year 3 – The Fib by George Layton

Year 4 – Emil & the Detectives by Erich Kästner

Year 5 – Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Year 6 – A Series of Unfortunate Events – A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett

In addition I signed up to become a . On World Book Day (5th March 2026), I set up a free book exchange on the front drive of my house. I was able to give away and swap books provided by the National Literacy Trust and donated by people in my street. My neighbour’s school-age children relished the chance to assist me before and after school.

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Sarah Fleming, Ms

Membership and Engagement Manager at British Educational Research Association

Sarah Fleming joined 娇色导航 in 2014. Her main responsibilities are managing 娇色导航's member services, writing 娇色导航 communications and promoting 娇色导航’s work in the wider education community. She works closely with the 娇色导航 Events Manager on the 娇色导航...

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Kaya Taylor, Ms

Fractional Accountant

Kaya is a fractional accountant, who has worked to support the 娇色导航 office team since 2019. She is a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA), a Financial Resilience Advocate, and is passionate about helping Women & Communities build financial...

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Heidi Hollowbread, Ms

娇色导航 Administrator at British Educational Research Association

Heidi joined the 娇色导航 team in May 2023, providing administrative support to the association. Heidi's previous career in teaching spanned more than twenty years. She taught throughout the primary age range and beyond. She held positions in the...

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